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Unemployment Rate Increases

ST. MARYS — For the second month in a row, the unemployment rate in Auglaize County has increased.

In data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the unemployment rate for the county increased 0.3 percent in June to settle in at 5.4 percent. The increase, which followed a slight increase in May, means the unemployment rate has gone up by a half a percent during the last two months. A year ago, the county had an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent.

“I still think we are in fairly good shape here in Auglaize County,” St. Marys Development Manager Susan Crotty said. “It’s hard to complain when we are doing much better than the rest of the state.”

Statewide, Crotty said she is concerned because the number of unemployed workers has not decreased much since 2012.

“Although you hear a lot of people saying that the economy is improving, we just aren’t seeing it reflected in the unemployment numbers,” Crotty said.

The rest of the region experienced similar increases in unemployment rates. Mercer County, which has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, registered a rate of 4.6 percent, up from 4.3 percent a month ago. Allen County was at 8.2 percent (up from 7.6 percent), Darke County was at 6.4 percent (up from 6 percent), Hardin County was at 8.6 percent (up from 7.3 percent), Logan County was at 6.7 percent (up from 6.3 percent), Shelby County was at 6.3 percent (up from 5.9 percent) and Van Wert County was at 6.9 percent (up from 6.6 percent).

Statewide, the unemployment rate increased 0.2 percent to 7.2 percent for June. The national rate was 7.6 percent.